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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, June 06, 2002

US Urges India, Pakistan to Take 'Path of Diplomacy'

In a latest effort to defuse the South Asian tensions, U.S. President George W. Bush called Indian and Pakistani leaders Wednesday, urging them to take the "path of diplomacy" to avoid a military confrontation.


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In a latest effort to defuse the South Asian tensions, U.S. President George W. Bush called Indian and Pakistani leaders Wednesday, urging them to take the "path of diplomacy" to avoid a military confrontation.

"Today the president (Bush) telephoned the leaders of India andPakistan urging them to take steps that will ease tensions in the region and reduce the risk of war," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told a news briefing.

He said that Bush reiterated to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf that the United States expects Pakistan to live up to the commitment Pakistan has made to end all support for terrorism.

In his phone call to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee,Fleischer said, Bush emphasized the need for India to respond with"de-escalatory steps."

According to the spokesman, Bush urged both leaders to choose the "path of diplomacy" in dealing with the crisis, noting that armed conflict will do nothing to improve the lives of the people in India or in Pakistan but block the future of both nations.

Bush said the United States is ready to help the parties in their efforts to resolve the many underlying issues that divide them.

Asked how Indian and Pakistani leaders has responded to Bush's phone calls, Fleischer said both leaders appreciated Bush's message but only time can tell what will happen next.

Bush made the phone calls just as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage began a trip to the two South Asian nationsto help defuse the tensions. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who is currently on a tour in Europe, will follow Armitage's footsteps to travel to the region, possible in the middle of next week.


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